Quieting symptoms of cancer and chemotherapy

Can cannabis cure cancer? To date, there is no scientific evidence to back the theory that cannabis kills cancer cells. In fact, most responsible cannabis professionals – leery of a culture of misinformation – will caution patients to ignore that claim.

What has been proven, however, is that medical cannabis can help with cancer symptoms, and the side-effects of chemotherapy. Where studies have found a significant use for medical cannabis in its treatment of cancer, is in its ability to help with everything from chronic pain and vomiting, to sleep and appetite loss.1

Pain

Two of the most discouraging symptoms associated with cancer of all forms, chronic pain and general unease are culprits that medical cannabis has proven to pacify. Using whole cannabis flowers, oils, topicals and tinctures – oftentimes in tangent with one another – cancer patients can find relief from a range of chronic and acute pain symptoms.

Nausea

Volatile is perhaps one of the most apt adjectives with which to describe the side-effects of chemotherapy. Vomiting and nausea are commonplace offshoots of cancer treatment, and studies have shown that the use of cannabinoids, particularly tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), can significantly help cancer patients with those discomforts.

Appetite

At its most egregious, cancer can cause extreme weight loss, a condition called cachexia. While notorious for stimulating hunger in consumers, cannabis can be of great benefit to patients experiencing reduced appetite or weight loss associated with cancer. Studies have shown that medical cannabis can stimulate the appetites of patients, while working to help them gain or maintain weight.

Sleep

The loss of sleep can be an easily overlooked side-effect of cancer and chemotherapy. Sweating – or freezing – through sleepless nights, can serve as the catalyst to an inability to properly cope with other symptoms by day. Again here, the use of medical cannabis, namely oils high in CBD before bed, can prove an important aid in helping cancer patients get better sleep.

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Contrary to many blogged opinions and dubious advice, there’s no safe amount of cannabis exposure for babies in the womb. Prenatal exposure to cannabis could harm children by affecting their birth size, adolescent behavior and chances of developing psychosis.

Lynn Wells only nibbles on a cannabis brownie monthly(,) but she’s one of many Canadian seniors clamouring to a plant they tried decades ago and have now returned to in light of some aches, pains and other conditions.

In addition to the two most studied cannabinoids, THC and CBD, there are over 60 other
cannabis molecules that have been isolated by researchers. While the list of clinical applications
for particular cannabinoids remains short – CBG, CBC, CBN, and a handful of others – the
prospect that others will produce therapeutic results is promising.

The endocannabinoid system is found in all vertebrate animals and even some invertebrates are reported to have an ECS. According to some reports, the number of endocannabinoid receptors in the human body is greater than all of the other neuromodulatory systems combined, including serotonin and dopamine. In other words, the endocannabinoid system is critically important to maintaining health and homeostasis.

For two particular reasons, there are few topics being explored in the cannabis space more
exhilarating than the endocannabinoid system. First, for a lack of research in the area, medical
schools have almost exclusively omitted the system from the curriculum. Second, as drug
policies have evolved, researchers have been allowed to study the system, and its inherent
connection to cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant.

The proverbial line between culture survey and scientific fact is no more blurred than when
discussing cannabis in the context of taxonomy. For decades now, patients have purchased
cannabis-based products in line with the cultural characterization of an indica as sedating, sativa
as energizing, and a hybrid strain falling somewhere in the middle. But many contemporary
botanists argue this distinction is unnecessary, and used merely to serve market purposes.

As medical cannabis has gained acceptance as a viable treatment option over the past two decades,
so too has the list of symptoms the plant has been shown to help grown. No longer is the plant merely
used to treat chronic pain or extreme conditions like HIV/AIDS, it now complements nearly every
therapy option available.

When discussing cannabis, it is important to remember that the line between science and folklore
can at times be fickle. In the context of cannabis as a treatment, for instance, there is only one
direct scientific source (THC found in ashes) that cannabis was used as a medicine, around 400
AD.

Insomnia, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome are but a few of the ills that fall under the
category of sleep condition. Though not quick to receive much attention from the healthcare
community, the threat associated with sleep conditions – from obesity to cardiovascular disease –
is stark.

December brings with it a flurry of things to be grateful for: the first snowfalls, the holiday season, time with family and friends, and a reprieve from the hustle and bustle that characterizes most every other month of the year. But for people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, December can also mean the beginning of an annual depression that starts when winter first flexes its icy grip on the human psyche.

The decision to adopt cannabis as a treatment option is, like most significant changes in life, very
personal. Whether you’ve decided to incorporate medical cannabis into your routine to treat
chronic pain, sleep issues, cancer symptoms or social anxiety, you’ve likely done so primarily
for one reason: to feel better.

There are few experts, if any, on the research and development side of the cannabis conversation that deny the holistic efficacy of THC. Despite there being a common misperception that the most popular and notorious of all the cannabinoids in the cannabis plant is only responsible for a good time, there is a wealth of scientific data that refutes this assertion. In fact, insiders have known – long before medical cannabis became an acceptable adjunct treatment option – that THC has profound therapeutic benefits.

Cannabis treatment is a moot therapy option without a firm grasp on how to dose. This very fact has perhaps been best illustrated by the fact the medical community, until recently, has shied away from throwing full support behind the plant and its potential. However, as new products develop, and fresh ways of dosing have become available to patients, so too have the means of dosing surfaced. As a result, more and more practitioners have started prescribing cannabis- based concentrates.